The Rising Tennis Ball
by silvestris.silvia
Summary: Light's first day at To-Oh after L's death. Canon compliant character study. (gift for tzigi in the Tumblr Secret Shinigami - Light's Birthday Extravaganza 2017 exchange)


**Author's note:** Slightly amended (improved?) from the Tumblr version because typos and stuff.

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 **The Rising Tennis Ball**

 _The young woman's silhouette was unfamiliar. She wore a white cloak whose cape was let down, and he could see her hair clearly. Her hair was brown like his, but longer, covering her shoulders._

 _She turned and the first thing that caught his attention was her blue eyes, which reminded him of Misa wearing contacts. Was she wearing contacts?_

 _He definitely had not met her before._

 _Why was she holding a white candle with one hand? Was it night already?_

 _She raised her other hand and he turned to see where she was pointing at._

 _Yes, it was night. He could see the moon now. A full moon._

 _His attention returned to the young woman when she suddenly spoke._

 _'The brightest star in the sky.'_

 _Her voice was quiet, and she did not say anything more. She gazed afar, unmoving as a statue._

 _His eyes were drawn to her burning candle again. Only that beneath the flame was not wax._

 _The candle was made up of white sugar cubes._

 _But that was…_

 _Anxiety suddenly filled the eerie silence. He confirmed that there was no handcuff surrounding his wrist. Now he only had to affirm…_

 _He looked around but there was nothing to be seen._

 _His eyes wandered to the sky again._

 _Its king, the luminous floating globe reigning over the realm of blackness, had two dark curves on it. They were all the more glaring because of their stark contrast with bright moonlight…_

 _But what he had thought was the moon, was not._

 _It was a tennis ball, and the dark curves were the oval on it._

 _Someone had shot a tennis ball up to the sky and_ it hanged there _, not rising or falling._

 _Just glowing._

The classroom door opened and Light Yagami woke up.

Mentally, for a few futile moments, he latched onto images of sugar cube candle and lunar tennis ball, but the memory slipped away like water in a funnel.

And he did not have the time to recall his dream. The incomers instantly recognised and engaged him.

'Light! You haven't been in To-Oh for almost half a year, we thought you've dropped out!'

'Are you OK? Didn't have an accident, I hope?'

'Where have you been?'

 _Brashness never changes, does it?_ 'You're the same as ever—never beat around the bush!' Light replied with a smile, and even added a friendly chuckle. 'I was just too busy so I took a leave. I'm still doing less courseload until next April.'

'What?'

'I could only take two classes now since I didn't pass any first semester courses. Plus it's already the middle of the second one.'

'Oh crap, so you need to retake?'

'Wish me luck.'

More students had entered the classroom, as did the professor, meaning that Light had successfully evaded the question of 'where he had been' before the start of lesson. He wouldn't tell them the truth anyway— _'L suspected me of being Kira so I was confined and monitored. Actually being Kira, I killed him.'_ It would be impolite to cause a scene in the classroom, really.

The sequence recurred after the lecture. This time, someone remembered seeing him and Misa together the last time he was in campus.

 _The celebrity loving type, I see._

'Haha, right, I know her. She's shooting for a movie, I think.'

'What movie?'

 _So easy._

Light had no more lesson today, his only other course not having any lecture until the day after tomorrow. But he still lingered in To-Oh.

He had not had the pleasure of being _truly_ alone for a very long time. Even now, he could not shake off the feeling that he was still being watched.

Instinctively, he looked at his wrist to check that there was no handcuff attached. There was no Ryuzaki. Not anymore.

Turning a corner, he glanced around to confirm that there was also no Misa, no shinigami, and no policemen dangling near him.

He might enjoy school a bit more this time, he thought with amusement. It could be a _relaxing_ experience.

There was a buzz in his pocket. Light pulled out his mobile while passing through a particularly crowded shortcut, and his good mood evaporated upon seeing yet another three text messages (plus one photo) from Misa.

 _'(⁄ ⁄⁄_ _⁄⁄ ⁄) MISS YOU already.'_

 _'Misa in her costume. You're the first to see (_ _ω_ _) it!'_

 _'Misa will cook dinner for you tonight! What do you want to eat?'_

Light rolled his eyes before replying only to the last message (with the most polite and charming version of 'whatever, I don't care' he could think of). Remind him why he was enduring this again?

For his _new world_ , naturally.

His grip on the phone tightened. The self-reminder made him suddenly feel not just alone, but disconnected, in a corridor packed with ordinary, happy-go-lucky college students.

 _It's getting dark and he should go back. He has come so far but still has a lot to do; it could take a long time, maybe even years, for his new world to supplant the old, for crime to be cleansed and justice to be upheld. Tomorrow he would once again continue his ascendance from the number one detective in the world to_ godhood _. Here's an idea. Later this week he'll propose to the task force a new way to 'tab Kira's movement'_ _—_

'Yagami!'

'Yagami-kun!'

'Did we shock you? Oh my gosh so sorry!'

'I just heard you're back and I'm _sooo_ glad we found you!'

'Do you remember us?'

'I hope you're not sick!'

'… Excuse me?' His shock at being approached out of the blue gradually ebbed, and he cursed himself for not noticing the intruders sooner. A headache was also threatening to appear. How could just two people create the sound effect of twenty?

Luckily, the two nuisances finally quieted down a little. 'Do you really not remember us?' The female asked. 'I'm Kyoko. Kyoko Yamaguchi.'

'Inoue. Yasunaga-senpai and I asked you to join the tennis club back in April, remember?'

'Dear me. You're not asking me to join the tennis club _now_?'

'I am. Why not? I heard you're doing just two courses this semester, so you must be free!'

'…'

'Look! We've been _flattened_ in the inter-school matches this year. You've got to help us out!'

'Sorry but…'

Light tried to explain he would _not_ join the tennis club no matter what, but he stepped on his own toes remembering that he should not give too specific details regarding his 'absence', in case whatever excuse he gave did not hold up to future events.

He could not tell them he was busy playing the role of _L_ while plotting _Kira_ 's conquest, could he?

He helplessly watched himself being dragged to the tennis courts. If he would not join the club, Inoue insisted, could he _please, please, please_ take a look at the club's practice session and give some advice?

With little interest, Light strolled from one court to another, watching how the handful of To-Oh Tennis Club members incompetently flapped their rackets like clumsy walruses. It was incredible how the tennis club of Japan's number one university could be this bad—too much motion in the take back, weak overhead, couldn't even serve properly…

No wonder they had _so_ wanted him and Ryuzaki—or 'Hideki Ryuga'—to join.

'I still remember the day you played against Ryuga-kun.' Kyoko suddenly spoke. She was not in the tennis club either, and had been walking by Light's side all the while. 'It was a spectacular match!'

 _Well, what a topic. Tread carefully._ ' _I_ remember _you_ liking Ryuga a lot. You're the one who insisted that he's better looking than me, right?' Light teased. 'Is Inoue better looking than Ryuga now? I didn't remember seeing you two together at all before. Are you now dating?'

'No! Well, Inoue isn't bad looking but—oh, _never mind that!_ ' Kyoko waved her hand profusely, blushing. 'Talk about something else! Well…' she sobered up a little, 'I just wanted to ask, do you know where Ryuga-kun has gone to? He took leave _before_ you, but now even you're back and he's still nowhere to be seen… You're the only one he really socialised with back then. Do you know him outside To-Oh?'

This he had an answer prepared. 'Unfortunately no. But fortunately no, otherwise my sister would pester me forever for his autograph. She's very into idols.'

'What—Yagami-kun! This joke is so _old_! People only joked about him and the singer back in the first two months!'

'Sorry.' He chuckled without the slightest embarrassment. The part about Sayu might be unnecessary, but it fitted the atmosphere he wanted to create. He couldn't let on what he knew about the fate of 'Hideki Ryuga' and _this_ lie was less likely to get out, anyway. 'But has Ryuga really not come back? Not even once? That guy _is_ strange.'

Kyoko sighed dramatically. 'I miss him. He has such a _wild_ look with him… What if… what if… what if he's been _killed by Kira_?'

Light halted as if he had been turned to stone. 'Excuse me?' He kept his face straight and voice calm, so that no one could realise how his throat dried and his pulse raced at the simple sentence. _She couldn't have known_ , his brain worked frantically to reassure, _she_ couldn't _have known_.

Kyoko did not find it strange at all that they had stopped in the middle between two tennis courts. With a dreamy look, she continued, 'don't you think he might be a criminal with his looks? Maybe he's the young successor of a crime syndicate and is secretly in charge of all Kanto yakuzas! Maybe his cronies have been downed by Kira one by one and he's now busy leading some secret mission against Kira… and that's why he doesn't have time for college! Maybe… Yagami-kun?'

Kyoko looked at Light in confusion. He had been perfectly composed a moment ago, wearing only a faint smile on his handsome face, but he was now trembling all over, one hand covering his mouth to suppress a violent fit of laughter.

He eventually calmed down and assumed a bashful expression. 'Sorry, I just found your idea _very_ funny. I didn't know you have such excellent sense of humour!' These were exactly the right words to please Kyoko, and her startled look broke into a shy giggle.

Light did not even lie. He _did_ find Kyoko's fantasy very funny, though for a different reason than what Kyoko imagined—for a reason she could never imagine.

An idea came to him. 'If a crime lord—doesn't have to be Ryuga, you know—just, if someone like that really is fighting Kira, who're you going to cheer for? The crime lord, or Kira?'

'Mm?' Kyoko blinked, looking like she had never considered the question at all (which was probably true). 'Mm…' She thought hard for some time, and her voice was hesitant when it finally spoke. 'I wouldn't want Ryuga to die because he's someone I know… But if that's not Ryuga but someone else… Mm… mm… a crime lord is someone who breaks the law… But Kira breaks the law too? Well… then… no wait.' Kyoko stopped in the middle. Lucidity finally hit her. 'This is a trick question, right? I remember your dad works for the police and he will catch _both_ , right? I won't be correct whichever I choose!'

One of Light's eyebrows felt an impulse to jump up, but was suppressed by its master, who reacted quickly and appropriately. 'Haha! My cover is blown!' _Well, he really does have a lot to do…_ Light chuckled along amiably on the outside, but inwardly he was once again reminded of his desire to leave. 'It's getting late. I should find Inoue and then go home—'

' _Watch out!_ ' A male voice from one of the tennis courts shouted.

They turned to the voice's direction and were just in time to see a tennis ball flying their way. But it was no threat to any of them because the ball flew so high. Light and Kyoko raised their heads to watch it shoot over them, hit one of the lampposts with a metallic sound, fall and bounce on the ground a few times before completely losing its energy.

Light gazed at the sky for a few more seconds. When the tennis ball flew so near the white bulb on the pole—did that remind him of something?

Before he could answer, a player Light did not know ran to retrieve the ball while Inoue reappeared to whine. 'You see, Yagami? That's how bad we are. You _really_ need to help us.'

Light sighed and ended his musing. It was unproductive, anyway. 'Well, you've got approximately three thousand problems to solve, but let's focus on the basic first, shall we…'

When Light finally managed to shake off Inoue, the entire tennis club assembled to discuss their future training plan. They did not turn off the tennis ball machine, from which one ball flew off after another, each following the same parabola, rising and then inevitably falling in an identical semi-circular motion.

The night had totally set in. At this hour, the November wind was a bit chilly. One could see the half moon dangling in the sky, but apart from that, stars were particularly hard to see in urban Tokyo.

 **END**

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 **More author's notes with trivia no one wants to know:**

\- The dream was going to be an actual meeting with the young woman appearing at the end of manga Chapter 108 and she would be asking Light for direction. But then sugar cube candles and lunar tennis balls happened and it can only be a dream and the woman becomes some weird mixture of multiple characters…

\- Me being me (i.e. a troll), it was hard to control the urge to actually use the term "light pollution" to talk about how there aren't stars in the city.

\- I was going to let Kyoko dump Ryuga and date Inoue for real, but I stopped it in time after rereading the prompts which reminded me not to include non-canon pairings, so L gets to keep his only fangirl in the world. Lucky man. (Still deader than dead, though.)


End file.
